Rodnesha
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a blend of Rodney and a feminine suffix.
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Rodnesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rodnesha today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodnesha births was 1994 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodnesha. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
1994
22 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2008 SSA rank
#17,054
Tracked since 1986
Census
Rodnesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 194 people with the first name Rodnesha, which placed it at #39,126 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#39,126
National first-name rank
People counted
194
194 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodnesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rodnesha is Black at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rodnesha described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rodnesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.8% · 182
- White2.6% · 5
- Two or more races2.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Popularity
Rodnesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodnesha from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 150 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodnesha by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rodnesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rodneshas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodnesha
The name Rodnesha is a relatively modern combination of the traditional names Rodney and Keisha. Its origins can be traced back to the early 20th century, when African American families began blending elements of their cultural heritage with contemporary influences.
The first part of the name, Rodn, derives from the Old English word "rod," meaning "fame" or "renown." This root can be found in various Germanic names, such as Rodney and Roderick, which have been popular in English-speaking countries for centuries.
Keisha, on the other hand, is a name of African descent, believed to have originated from the Swahili word "Keisha," meaning "favorite one" or "precious." It gained popularity in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Black Power movement and the celebration of African cultural identity.
While the exact origin of the name Rodnesha is uncertain, it is likely that it emerged as a creative fusion of these two distinct naming traditions, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of African American families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rodnesha can be found in the 1980s, when it began appearing in public records and directories. Notable individuals with this name include Rodnesha Brown (b. 1987), a former professional basketball player, and Rodnesha Bowers (b. 1992), an actress and model.
Other notable figures throughout history who have borne variations of the name include Rodney King (1965-2012), the prominent figure in the Los Angeles riots of 1992, and Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004), the renowned American comedian.
Additionally, the name Keisha has been carried by several notable individuals, such as Keisha Castle-Hughes (b. 1990), the Oscar-nominated New Zealand actress, and Keisha Buchanan (b. 1984), a British singer and former member of the Sugababes.
While the name Rodnesha may be relatively new, its components have rich histories that span continents and cultures, reflecting the diverse tapestry of the African American experience.
People
Rodnesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodnesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rodnesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodnesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodnesha going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Rodnesha a common name?
We classify Rodnesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodnesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodnesha was 1994, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodnesha is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rodnesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 194 people with the name Rodnesha, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,126 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rodnesha in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rodnesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rodnesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 188 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rodnesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rodnesha is Black at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rodnesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rodnesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (182 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rodnesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rodnesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rodnesha in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rodnesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rodnesha in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rodnesha can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Rodnesha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.